Lord & Company Technologies
Providing In- Building Wireless Communications
BOB BUTCHKO
Partner/EVP
www.lordcotech.com
Copyright 2009 all rights reserved
OUR WIRELESS WORLD…
Commercial Communications
Global Society is addicted to……
Life-Style Electronic Appliances
Cell Phones / Blackberries / Internet
Incessant/Overwhelming Demand for….
FULL BAR SERVICE
ANYWHERE
ANYTIME
WITHOUT INTERRUPTION
OUR WIRELESS WORLD…
Emergency Communications
Post 9/11…..
1. Inter-jurisdictional INTEROPERABILITY
2. Reliable in-building communications
PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SYSTEMS
What does this all mean?
More Infrastructure
Fact of life…..
• No matter how many towers the carriers erect or
• How many emergency repeater sites the counties install
• There will always be some outdoor areas or large
buildings that are without adequate signal
What’s the solution?
Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)
Radio communications systems
Serving a specific outdoor area with multiple
antennas or entire building from a single
central antenna
In-Building Public Safety Radio
“THE FIRST RESPONDER’S LIFELINE”
• Use of Handheld Radios necessitates
in building amplification
• First coded city Burbank in 1991
• Big metro areas first to require
• Spreading nationally to counties/cities
• 11 in 2002, 63 today
• Requirements vary county to county
• Now part of NFPA 2009 code
What is the
last thing these
first responders
want to hear ?
BONK!
What’s The Problem ?
No matter how good the…..
Emergency Comm System (ECS)
Some areas in hi-rise buildings
that will not have a signal…….
Courtesy : Jack Daniel Company
What’s the answer?
In-building …..
Distributed Antenna System (DAS)
With Bi-directional amplification
In the frequency range used by the
authority having jurisdiction.
Illustration courtesy Jack Daniel Company
Public Safety Radio Systems
Some Perspective…..
PSRS today is…..
Like Fire Sprinkler Systems
Were 30-40 years ago
Public Safety Radio NFPA 2009
NFPA® 1
Fire Code
2009 Edition
Annex “O”
In-Building Public Safety Radio
Enhancement Systems
What Structures Require PSRS?
In General:
• Sub-grade floors on all new construction
• Floors in buildings with 25K sq ft per floor
• All floors of buildings greater than 3
stories, type I&II construction
• An individual dwelling units are exempt
PSRS: <I% of project costs
Dependent on a multitude of issues:
1. Local rules -95 dBm or DAQ 3.4
2. Number of sub-grade floors
3. Proximity to donor site
4. Location//position
5. Topography including other buildings
6. Type of construction and materials used
Typical Process
• New construction project owners responsibility
• Code requires loud and clear communications
• Must be tested, installed and certified before C of O
Typical Applications
• Commercial Real Estate Developers
– New hi-rise construction
•
•
•
•
Tower Operators
State – County - City Buildings
Public Schools
Hospitals
– ER reception area
• Special Government Facilities
• Tunnels
Courtesy : Jack Daniel Company
Courtesy : Jack Daniel Company
Courtesy : Jack Daniel Company
DAS Components
System Fundamentals:
• Distributed Antenna System…..DAS
–
–
–
–
Fiber Cabling
Coaxial cable called Heliax / Radiax
Couplers, power dividers
Internal spot antennas
• Signal Boosters
– Bi-Directional Amplifiers, BDA’s
• Roof Top Antenna Systems
– External Antenna Arrays
First Floor:
The MC Regulation